Guide to Cat Coat Colors and Patterns

Tabby means dark markings (stripes, swirls, spots) on a paler background. The stripe color is solid (goes right to the hair root), but the background color is agouti (each hair is banded with color). Different breeds may use different names for the same color. The tabby colors are:

As well as the various permutations of tabby/silver tabby/golden tabby, spotted/silver spotted/golden spotted there are some terms specific to the modified tabby markings and specific colourways of certain breeds.

Genetically, ticking is a tabby pattern, but visually it looks very different. Since each individual hair has several bands of color, the ticking affects the apparent color of the cat. Some colors are linked to the cat's sex, but you only need to know that if you plan to show or breed. Ticked breeds are the Abyssinian, Somali, Suqutranese, Singapura, Alaskan Snow Cat although there are ticked versions of Orientals and it would be possible to produce ticked versions of other breeds. The background color of tabby cats is ticked, this is most obvious in brown/black tabbies.